ALEX Lesson Plan Resources

ALEX Lesson Plans  
Subject: Science (1)
Title: Light, Can't you See? Investigating Materials that Allow Light to Pass through Them
Description: Students will work in small groups to conduct a hands-on investigation to see what materials allow light to pass through. They will label materials as opaque, translucent, and transparent. They will operate solar panels and place different materials between the sun and the panel.  The panel is attached to a fan which will stop, continue spinning or slow down depending on the material. Learners will record their findings in chart form. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Subject: Science (1)
Title: Peekaboo, I See You: A Lesson on How Light Passes Through an Object
Description: Students will use transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective items that they find around the classroom or school to investigate how light passes through an object. This activity will demonstrate how light behaves around objects. The first investigation will take students on a scavenger hunt to find objects that fit each type.  Students will classify each object using a flashlight and analyzing how light passes through the object. Then the final investigation will allow students to experiment with how the amount of light that each type allow effects the rate at which ice will melt. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.